Even though Disney has had a rather disappointing year at the box office so far, with three Marvel underperformers and a Pixar bomb on its resume, the studio can rest easy because James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash will likely make up for it all. The third installment in the filmmaker’s epic space opera franchise is due out in December, just three years after Avatar: The Way of Water defied the naysayers to gross $2.3 billion at the global box office. It became the second-biggest hit of Cameron’s career, sandwiched between the first Avatar, which grossed $2.9 billion, and Titanic, which has made $2.2 billion worldwide thanks to numerous re-releases over the years. The epic disaster-romance film is sailing toward a new streaming home next month. Titanic will be released on the Paramount+ streaming service in November, giving audiences enough time to start their Cameron marathons ahead of Avatar 3. Released in 1997 amid unprecedented skepticism in the industry, the movie shattered every conceivable box office record, becoming the first film in history to gross more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. It remained the number one film domestically for about half a year, and made overnight stars out of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Produced on a then-record $200 million budget, Titanic survived an infamously torrid production that pushed Cameron and his crew to the edge. The filmmaker once said that the studio was certain that they were going to release the biggest bomb in history for the entire duration of filming. The popular sentiment changed for the first time when audiences saw a trailer for the movie. In addition to its box office success — it remains the fourth-highest-grossing film in global box office history — Titanic was also a critical darling, winning the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars.
James Cameron Appears to Be Taking a Break from the ‘Avatar’ Franchise

Cameron didn’t make another movie until the first Avatar, which debuted 12 years later. It took another 13 years to release Avatar 2, which was fortunately shot simultaneously with the third installment. That said, the sequels entered principal photography nearly a decade ago, which goes to show just how long these movies take. Cameron intends to make two more, but all signs currently point towards him taking a break and directing the World War II drama Ghosts of Hiroshima in between. You can watch Titanic on Paramount+ starting November 1, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

December 19, 1997

Runtime

3h 14m

Director

James Cameron

Writers

James Cameron